Chuck is the author of the published novels: Blackbirds, Mockingbird, Under the Empyrean Sky, Blue Blazes, Double Dead, Bait Dog,Dinocalypse Now, Beyond Dinocalypse and Gods & Monsters: Unclean Spirits. He also the author of the soon-to-be-published novels: The Cormorant, Blightborn (Heartland Book #2), Heartland Book #3, Dinocalypse Forever, Frack You, and The Hellsblood Bride. Also coming soon is his compilation book of writing advice from this very blog: The Kick-Ass Writer, coming from Writers Digest.

He, along with writing partner Lance Weiler, is an alum of the Sundance Film Festival Screenwriter’s Lab (2010). Their short film, Pandemic, showed at the Sundance Film Festival 2011, and their feature film HiM is in development with producers Ted Hope and Anne Carey. Together they co-wrote the digital transmedia drama Collapsus, which was nominated for an International Digital Emmy and a Games 4 Change award.

Chuck has contributed over two million words to the game industry, and was the developer of the popular Hunter: The Vigil game line (White Wolf Game Studios / CCP). He was a frequent contributor to The Escapist, writing about games and pop culture.

Much of his writing advice has been collected in various writing- and storytelling-related e-books.

He currently lives in the forests of Pennsyltucky with wife, two dogs, and tiny human.

He is likely drunk and untrustworthy. This blog is NSFW and probably NSFL.

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Chuck Wendig is a novelist, screenwriter, and game designer. This is his blog. He talks a lot about writing. And food. And pop culture. And his kid. He uses lots of naughty language. NSFW. Probably NSFL. Be advised.

Flash Fiction Challenge: Create Your Own Monster

Today, a challenge to you:

I want you to come up with your own monster.

Not a vampire, not a werewolf, not a Loch Ness serpent or a Chupacabra. Something new. Something uniquely yours.

You will create this creature and give it life inside a piece of flash fiction.

Name it. Think about it in context of its environment. Make it a character all its own. You can write something horror, fantasy, sci-fi, or if you wanna take it for a more literary or literal spin, do so. It’s your monster. Take it for a walk where you want to walk it.

Post a story on your own personal blog. From the URL bar, copy the link from your published blog post, and paste it into the comments section here.

Be warned, this isn’t a group. It’s a chaotic, mania-induced FFA. You might get some reads, maybe some likes and a few comments, but you won’t get solid crits. If you’re looking to ‘work with’ a group for genuine feedback and crit, you’d be better looking around writing forums and buddying up/mentoring/script-swapping with like-minded folks (the people around here are crazy.)

Here’s one that my son wrote a while back. I love this excuse–errrrr, good reason — to share it!
Summary: Lieutenant James Harwood is sick of sitting around doing paperwork and wants to go chase bad guys. However, when the danger comes to him, hunting clues might be what kills him. Or worse….

I realized that I created a pretty cool monster last year when we did a genre mashup here, so I am bringing back my Southern Gothic/Kaiju fire-breathing possum. The story is called “Burn”. Please to enjoy.

Here’s my story. My word count is a bit high (1,670), sorry about that. But according to my son the ending is pretty good. When I asked if it was spooky he said, “Not really. It’s kind of cheesy.” But, you know, he did say the ending was pretty good. Wait, could he have meant that it was good that it ended? Yikes!

Very well written, and very sad! I liked that we don’t ever see the tree man ourselves, we only see him through a mother’s longing, a little boy’s imagination, and an errant drawing. Sometimes the best (worst) monsters are the ones we never see with our own eyes.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I admit to loving scary movies but I rarely read and never write spooky stories. So I almost didn’t bother trying this challenge. But when I heard myself avoiding a challenge because it was a challenge, well, I had to laugh at myself and then give it a try!

Aww, sorry to hear about your job! 🙁 Horrible human beings come in all shapes, sizes, genders and colours, but it stings even worse when such meanness comes from someone who ought to be in your corner. Hope the red wine managed to make you feel a little better, at least, and that your story was some small catharsis! 😛

My monster is a human who becomes the little voice in your head. The fucking nagging nasty voice. I’ve met and defeated a few in my time, but this one is mor epowerful. After the intro in French, at http://www.campagnonades.com/fiction-un-monstre/

I posted mine last night, just after midnight my time, but it’s still waiting for approval this morning. That’s not a complaint, Chuck – we’re just trying to work out how best to deal with your spam filter 🙁

Great story, and I loved the very old-world, scientific zeitgeist. I can picture Mr. Archibald. D. Jones as a Victorian-era explorer, full of his own pomp and grandeur, believing that a superior mind can overcome any adversity. An unexpected style, but very enjoyable!